Due to extended vehicle operating times, which can be, for example, up to 30 years in the case of aircraft, the protection of metal structural components against occasional corrosion is of special importance. A majority of the materials that are used in the aviation industry involve aluminum alloys. Locations that evade direct visual inspection altogether or that are only accessible with considerable effort and known to be potentially exposed to more extensive exposure to water and electrolytes, should be monitored for corrosion at regular intervals.
Civil aircraft and military transporters operate more or less regularly inside climate zones of high air humidity and high ambient temperatures such as, for example, in maritime atmospheres, which are conducive to the formation of condensation.
The prior art specifies moisture sensors that are provided with a water-sensitive layer for detecting instantaneous moisture. These sensors are typically configured as thin-layer systems and operate reversibly, depending on the respectively occurring outer instantaneous partial pressure of H2O. Any reversible take-up of water in the sensitive layer on or into the condenser causes a change of the capacitance, whereby this change constitutes the measured value in these sensors. However, sensors of this type are not able to detect an integral take-up of H2O or electrolytes directly.